Let’s face it, most of us will fall in the procrastination loop hole instead of being productive and on top of everything. The next thing we know, we’ll be on the last page on Google Search looking for productivity hacks and a procrastination cure. And that’s ok. The first step into achieving the productivity you are dreaming of is already done – you are motivated! The next step is finding the right method for you, so let’s dive in!
First of all, is productivity what you think it is?
There are many opinions on this one, but let’s put it like this – this morning you had in mind exactly what you wanted to achieve today but somehow you ended up doing the exact opposite. It happens to everyone. Try not to punish yourself because guilt won’t help it. In fact, it will only make it worse (we don’t want that). The question we should ask ourselves is “Did that contribute to what I want to achieve?”. As long as it’s something that got you closer to what you want, you might be in a good place! This large perception that productivity means ticking as many boxes as possible on a to do list, turns people into what we call “workaholic” (we don’t want that as well).
Here’s what you can do!
1. WRITE IT DOWN!
We can’t stress enough the importance of getting things out of your head, preferably on paper. We are visual beings, therefore we can understand better what’s going on in our minds once we can see what we are thinking of! Take a piece of paper or your favorite notebook and simply write down everything you want to do today, this week or month. If you are the techy kind of person, then Todoist is the holy grail of …(of course, you guessed it) to-do lists. The point of this step is to take everything out. We’ll take care of the implementation part in the next step.
2. Prioritise
Ladies and gents, we’d like to introduce you to THE EISENHOWER MATRIX. You have 4 quadrants divided by urgency and importance, from low to high. The key here is that you shouldn’t fall in the first quadrant with your tasks, as there are the tasks that will take most of your time. If you keep postponing stuff you don’t like, the 1st quadrant will keep you away from what is important and enjoyable and you’ll find yourself doing only the urgent tasks (which don’t always help you achieve your goals).
A proper prioritisation of your activities and planning in advance will help you increase your productivity and achieve more! This tool will help clear your mind and have a better understanding of what you have to do. After a while, organising your time properly will become a habit. You can FREE DOWNLOAD the Eisenhower Matrix Framework alongside some tips that will help you understand what kind of tasks you should put in each quadrant and how to deal with them. It’s been a golden nugget for us so far!
3. Plan Ahead
Once you have an overview of your month, it will be easier for you to decide what you are going to do each week and day. Just take a piece of paper and write down everything you want to achieve this month. Then, try to break everything down into weeks and days. Start with however many tasks you feel comfortable and see how it goes. For some people, it might work to have a bunch of tasks and do just a few, whilst others will be very realistic about their time and manage to do exactly what they settle for. Try this tip and see what works best for you! However, try to always decide on the most important thing you want to accomplish each day, the one task that would make you feel the most accomplished. Otherwise, your to-do-list will be filled with lots of unimportant tasks.
4. Plan Breaks
If it’s not on the paper, it’s not going to happen! This is something that many successful people such as John Rockefeller or Jim Kwik agreed on. It is said that J. Rockefeller used to nap every time after lunch and relax on most evenings. Breaks are as important as what you have to get done! If there’s no balance between these two, you might become a workaholic and lose perspective on other important things in life. It is incredible what we can achieve with a fresh mind – not only will we have more energy, but we’ll also be more creative, scientists say. Not losing your focus is pretty much essential in being productive and achieving your goals! It might be helpful for you to try the Pomodoro Technique – work for 25 minutes and take a 5 minutes break. That’s a pomodoro! After 4 pomodoros, you get a longer break – 20 minutes.
5. Remove Distractions
Turn off that TV, turn on the Airplane Mode on your phone, go in a room with natural light and log out of Facebook. Try to mute all the notifications from the apps you might use the most. This is an important aspect, as we don’t realise how disruptive distractions can be. If you ever wondered, it takes an average of 23 minutes to refocus on a task, scientists say. Whenever you have a hard time focusing on your tasks, we recommend the Freedom App. If you create the right environment, rest assured that there will be nothing stopping you! Have a clean working space and boost your productivity!
6. Set Clear Working Hours
Routine is important when it comes to establishing a workflow. Once you set it, you won’t need to spend so much time planning anymore (wink, wink). You already created a habit of working between specific hours and your body is ready for that. You’ll get rid of the chaotic lifestyle as you create a clear structure of what will happen during the day, week or month. It will become easier to get things done and prioritise what is important! If 5AM to 12PM is your jam, then stick to it!
7. Reward yourself!
We love the idea of going somewhere exciting after a productive morning. We always have in mind the idea of “After we finish this, we’ll go there!”. It motivates us to finish what we have to do because we know that there’s a reward at the end of the finish line. Make sure you have specific working hours, otherwise the day will pass and you’ll still be working. Here are some suggestions of rewards you can choose from:
- Watch a movie
- Go out for a drink
- Work on a personal project
- Meet some friends
- Just..enjoy life?
EVERYTHING SUMMED UP
You might have realised while reading this article that everything lies in having a clear goal and a plan to achieving it. You’ll find success through trial and error. We’re all unique, but there’s something that will surely work for our particular needs. The thing is, you have to try and see which technique is your perfect fit. When it comes to productivity and procrastination, we tried everything mentioned above. Most of the time, what works best for us is a combination of all these methods. Don’t be too harsh with yourself! This is a process of learning more about yourself and how you work, and that won’t always bring instant results. Take it easy and play around with these methods!
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”
– Benjamin Franklin
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